Caring for a luxury candle
There is more to burning a candle than striking a match. Just as a luxury car needs minimum maintenance to run smoothly, an exceptional candle needs an ounce of TLC to burn properly.
Before sharing our candle care tips, there are a few federal guidelines worth mentioning:
Never leave a candle unattended or near children and/or pets.
Do not burn a candle all the way to the end.
Trim the wick after every burn.
Never burn any candle for more than four hours at a time.
The last two guidelines should be followed, not only for safety reasons but for perfecting the candle burn and extending its life. Below are a couple of common issues that can be avoided with luxury candles.
Tunneling
Tunneling occurs when only a small portion of the wax around the wick melts. It looks as if the flame is burrowing into the candle making a vertical tunnel. When tunneling occurs it will likely get worse over time because there is increasingly less oxygen to burn. The result is precious wasted wax which decreases the life of your candle. Tunneling is mostly an issue for cheaper candles, and while we have not encountered tunneling with the Make Me Sway candle because we have added coconut wax which is far softer than soy, we still recommend following the below recommendation.
How to prevent tunneling
Make sure that your first candle burn is not too short because only the wax surrounding the wick will melt setting the stage for tunneling. Think of your candle as having memory. If the first burn is too short, the candle will “remember” to melt only the center. The recommended time for the first burn depends on the type of wax used and container size. We recommend about two hours for ours. Subsequent burn times ideally are between one and two hours. Please note that because coconut wax gives off scent even when unlit, an hour is more than enough time as the scent will continue to carry for several hours after burning.
How to minimize soot
We spent much time testing and retesting our candles in an effort to determine the conditions under which soot occurs. In doing so we discovered that it is directly proportional to two factors: burn time and wick length. This is true for all candles as we tested ours alongside other luxury brands. Here is how to avoid soot from accumulating in your candle:
After the first two-hour maximum burn, aim to burn your candle no longer than one or two hours at a time. Even half hour is plenty for most environments. Burning for longer periods of time is not only wasting the candle but may cause the charred edge of the wick to fall into the wax creating soot. The wax logo may also melt, indicating that the candle has been burning for far too long.
Trim the wick down to 1/8” after each use. If you don’t have a wick trimmer, when the candle has cooled, pinch the charred edge off the wick with a piece of tissue paper and discard. This will prevent it from showing up uninvited to your wax pool!
If you see any soot on the surface of your candle, gently wipe it with a tissue. As our wax is soft, this works beautifully.
Avoid placing your candle near a draft as the unstable flame will not only consume more candle wax, but will also create more soot and smoke in the process.
Following these simple suggestions will improve the candle’s burn and extend its life. And remember, the addition of coconut wax ensures that the candle will still smell wonderful even when unlit.
Make Me Sway
In addition to the poetry infused magnetic box, fit for a jewel, our matt black, luxe vessel holds 11 ounces of premium wax offering 55-65 hours of burn time. The wooden wick gently crackles when lit, its horizontal flame becoming visible through the vessel. But it is the science behind the art that truly makes our candles stand out from the rest.
Made with coconut and soy waxes, arguably the best on the market, our candles offer an unrivaled scent throw which refers to how well a candle’s aroma circulates throughout a space. As soy wax has a terrific scent throw when hot, and coconut is the clear winner when cold, we decided to combine the two for the best of both worlds. Furthermore, wooden wicks have a better scent throw because they burn lower helping warm the wax around the wick instead of just burning it off and depleting the candle’s valuable fragrances, which often occurs with cotton wicks due to their high flame and accelerated burn rate.
Coconut Wax is a renewable, high yield crop which makes it a great sustainable product. Since it is among the softest waxes available, exposure to heat or humidity may cause the wax to “sweat” ever so slightly. When that happens, rejoice because the scent throw will be off the charts!
Haven’t tried our handmade candles yet? Try one, make it sway or leave unlit…the scent will be amazing either way!